17 African Governments generally respected the human rights
of its citizens; In 18 Countries, the government's overall human rights record was considered poor, although there were
notable improvements in some of the problematic areas; An additional 11 governments had human rights records that were
considered poor with limited or no progress being made in problematic areas [Although Liberia and
Guinea-Bissau are part of this group which reflects the poor human rights records of the Taylor and Yala governments that
were in power for most of 2003, both countries showed a marked improvement in their records after transitional governments
were installed]; Two governments had human rights records that were considered very/extremely poor.

Angola - The Government's human
rights record remained poor; although there were improvements in a few areas,
serious problems remained.

Benin - The Government generally
respected the human rights of its citizens

Botswana - The Government generally respected the human rights of its citizens

Burkina Faso - The Government's
human rights record remained poor; although there were some improvements in
a few areas, serious problems remained.

Burundi - The Transitional Government's
human rights record remained poor, and it continued to commit numerous serious human rights abuses.

Cameroon - The Government's human
rights record remained poor; although there were some improvements in a few
areas, serious problems remained.

Cape Verde - The Government generally respected the human rights of its citizens

Central African Republic - The
Government's human rights record remained poor; although there were some improvements
in a few areas, serious problems remained.

Chad - The Government's human
rights record remained poor, and it continued to commit serious human rights abuses.

Comoros - The Government generally respected the human rights of its citizens

Congo-Brazzaville - The Government's
human rights record remained poor; although there were some improvements in
a few areas, serious problems remained.

Congo-Kinshasa - In areas under
central government control, the Government's human rights record remained poor; although there
were some improvements, serious problems remained.

Côte d'Ivoire - The Government's
human rights record remained poor; although there were some improvements in
a few areas, serious problems remained.

Djibouti - The Government's human
rights record remained poor, and it continued to commit serious abuses.

Equatorial Guinea - The Government's
human rights record remained poor; although there were some improvements in
a few areas, numerous serious problems remained.

Eritrea - The Government's human
rights record remained poor, and it continued to commit serious abuses.

Ethiopia - The Government's human
rights record remained poor; although there were some improvements in a few
areas, serious problems remained.

Gabon - The Government's human
rights record remained poor; although there were some improvements in a few
areas, serious problems remained.

The Gambia - The Government generally respected the human rights of its citizens.

Ghana - The Government generally
respected the human rights of its citizens

Guinea - The Government's human
rights record remained poor; although there were improvements in several areas,
serious problems remained.

Guinea-Bissau - The Government's
human rights record remained poor, and it continued to commit serious abuses; however, reports
of abuse declined markedly after the September 14 coup.

Kenya - The Government's human
rights record remained poor; although there were some improvements in a few
areas, serious problems remained

Lesotho - The Government generally respected the human rights of its citizens

Liberia - Prior to the resignation
of President Taylor, the Government's human rights record remained poor, and it continued to commit
numerous, serious abuses. There were no reports that the NTGL [National Transitional Government of Liberia] committed any
serious human rights violations in its first few months in office.

Madagascar - The Government generally respected the human rights of its citizens

Malawi - The Government generally respected the human rights of its citizens

Mali - The Government generally
respected its citizens' human rights

Mauritania - The Government's
human rights record remained poor; although there were some improvements in
several areas, serious problems remained

Mauritius - The Government generally respected the human rights of its citizens

Mozambique - The Government's
human rights record remained poor; although there were some improvements in
several areas, serious problems remained.

Namibia - The Government generally respected the human rights of its citizens

Niger - The Government's human
rights record remained poor; although there were some improvements in a few
areas, serious problems remained.

Nigeria - The Government's human
rights record remained poor, and the Government continued to commit serious abuses.

Rwanda - The Government's human
rights record remained poor, and it continued to commit serious abuses.

São Tomé and Príncipe - The Government
generally respected the human rights of its citizens

Senegal - The Government generally respected its citizens' rights

Seychelles - The Government generally respected the human rights of its citizens

Sierra Leone - The Government
generally respected the rights of its citizens